America's massive military aid package to Pakistan is being scrutinised after allegations that as much as 70% of $5.4bn in assistance to the country has been misspent.
Since 2002 the US has paid the operating costs of Pakistan's military operations in the tribal belt along the Afghan border, where Taliban and al-Qaida fighters are known to shelter.
Pakistan provides more than 100,000 troops and directs the battles; the US foots the bill for food, fuel, ammunition and maintenance. The cash payments - averaging $80m (£40m) a month - have been a cornerstone of US support for Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf.
But over the past 18 months, as militants have seized vast areas of the tribal belt and repelled a string of Pakistani offensives, the funding has come under the microscope.
American officials processing the payments at the US embassy in Islamabad have concluded that the Pakistani expense claims have been vastly inflated, two western military officials have told the Guardian. "My back of envelope guesstimate is that 30% of the money they requested to be reimbursed was legitimate costs they had expended," said one, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official said that the US did not know what had happened to the remaining 70% of the funds - amounting to approximately $3.8bn - but suspected that some of the money might have been spent on F-16 fighter jets or "a new house for an army general".
Full story @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/28/pakistan.usa
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